What would you do if your soul was just plucked out of nowhere and was now part of a book? I would make puppets and follow the orders given to me…since my puppets do not work outside of the ”normal” world. Running through many floors to reach chambers that are gateways to different worlds. Fighting my way to the next floor hoping to be in the last chamber. I thought I was free from being a book…but then I got dragged into another object….WITH NO LEGS!!! Guess my purpose is to be legless and make puppets. But, hey….I get to travel to different worlds for free…kind of.
What fate has in store for you…
Labyrinth of Gallereia: The Moon Society is developed by Nippon Ichi Software and published by NIS America for the NA and EU region. This linear dungeon-crawling adventure game is a new chapter from their previous game, Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk. Some people would think this game is a sequel, but it would be slightly impossible due to the true ending of the first game. I found out this game was being released about a month after beating its predecessor to full completion….because I was super invested in the story and wanted to KNOW…IT… ALL! As its spiritual successor, Labyrinth of Gallereia has some big shoes to fill when it comes to storytelling and hopefully fixes a few things when it comes to the combat and balance from the previous labyrinth I’ve explored. This game series is completely vocalized excluding some parts where you have thought monologues with yourself or to some NPCs that you meet in the labyrinth throughout your playthrough.
The thing that attracted me to this game was not only the unique battle system, but the art style when it comes to titles that are made by Nippon Ichi Software. The games they make are so amazing and so well-detailed. There are some characters/enemies designs that border on the line of being listed as NSFW, but you’ll need to really be committed to searching every nook and cranny to find some of these character designs. I did see that they kept the number of Facets to eight, and they’re all different Facets from the previous title. Facets are roles that you can distribute to your puppets when making them. You still get to decide their gender as well before you can make them into a puppet, though not only did they change the art on the original 5 they brought over, but they added one class called Famyu Seeker which is cats….with little cloaks that are held together by a cat bell clasp. CATS WITH SMALL CLOAKS WITH A SMALL BELL!!!! I already have plans of naming two of them after my real-life cats, but depending on the build and specs, I’ll try to get away with having an army of cats and take over the labyrinth! There are two forms people will take when playing a game like this. You’ll either be captivated by the story and art of this world. Or you’ll be fixated on the background story you give your puppets that you become invested in the tale(s) you weave as you continue down the labyrinth.
This story needs a protagonist
The game’s protagonist is you, the Lanterne de Fantasmagorie or Fantie for short. (And yes, I thought of the “Don’t you wanna Fanta” commercial since I heard it.) A lantern holding your very soul inside to easily transport you into the labyrinth. You were summoned by Madam Marta, a witch skilled in necromancy and alchemy. While your host medium, Eureka, is a noble from the north who came to the manor because of a job flyer looking for people who are great at finding things and taking care of a specific type of flower. Eureka is your eyes and ear outside of the dungeon and helps report anything you experience and find to Madam Marta. You’re tasked to find items called Curios, old works of art that have traces of a curse placed on them that vary from one another. Your main task in the story, however, is to locate all 9 of the Curios d’ arts for Lord Bismont de Fleur-Zette, the Count of Aude and the current owner of the Galleria Manor. He seems calmly obsessed with getting his hands on these Curios d’ art, but won’t tell you why. Throughout your adventure into the underground labyrinth of Galleria, you and your witch brigade must traverse many dangerous hazards and defeat the beasts you come across as best as you can. But the real question is, what secrets can or will be found throughout your search for the Curios d’ arts? And will you survive to get those answers?
During my playthrough of the first wardrobe, I found myself with more questions than answers about a lot of the mysteries of not only Galleria, but of every NPC that I’ve come across thus far in my first 10 hours of playing. Everyone but Eureka is hiding something and that has currently got me engrossed and invested in this game by wanting to know more. I love that the story has my curiosity in a death grip and rewards me for my efforts and hard work in pushing through all the obstacles the labyrinth has laid down before me. The one thing that has me more concerned about this game that its previous predecessor didn’t have, is that my choices when interacting with the NPC as Fantie might have consequences. But, I look forward to seeing what my honest responses will get me.
The original soundtrack for LoG is slightly smaller than LoR, but it’s still produced by Tenpei Sato who knows how to immerse you in everything happening through your playthrough. Scenes with Eureka panicking, having a normal conversation and switching naturally to something silly or to slowly moving to complete silence to set the mood to show how serious everything that’s about to be said really is. I’m looking forward to finding my next arranged song naturally throughout my search in the labyrinth. My favourite one from LoR was Green Blood ~ Arranged. This plays during a certain boss fight that makes victory taste all the sweeter. I do love the additional little chimes and audio cues that play when you either get something new added to Fantiie’s ever-growing list of utilities you gain from Madam Marta. Yet, they also gave a larger amount of impact to the damage caused not only by me hitting the enemies but by getting hit with a critical gore, still being poisoned or falling into a pitfall for the umpteenth time and hitting the ground like a sack of potatoes. Luckily, the developers made a setting prompt where you can control the volume from the background music to even the sound effects that play during events in the story. This great setting helps when I want to focus on the vocals of the scene or raise the music a bit more without having to deal with putting the volume down on my tv if I lost the remote to the tv again.
Is this a Curios d’ art?
The look and design of not only the labyrinth, but of the background pieces used at every location throughout my playthrough were gorgeous and mesmerizing. The details they added to all these enemies are too well done. If you’re in a location that’s known for blood-sucking creatures, those creatures will have blood around their mouth and body. And this is the cleanest version of what I’ve witnessed throughout my playthrough. Items you collect from either walking around the labyrinth or from the fighting have unique looks and names that will sometimes throw you for a loop. The facets have 3 different appearances at the start and 5 colour choices to fit your needs. The map design is still amazing as it was in LoR. They’re using a grid system to better help you map out items or help give you an idea of how big the floor you’re on really is. It also helps me with wondering if there is something hiding at a certain accessible spot.
Upgraded Labyrinth
Now the thing that got me to get up, run over to my dresser to grab a pair of socks, put them on and then have them blown off my feet was the number of changes and improvements done to the game. When it comes to the list of improvements that really tickled my fancy was the Notetaker ability. The fact that I can finally leave a note to myself on the map saying anything I want to gives me goosebumps. (Goose pimple or Goose skin for those who don’t say goosebumps.) Then there’s the ability to watch cutscenes from the hub that you already accessed. I cannot tell you how many times my cats walk on my controller when I walk away to check on the cooking or answer the door. Getting to review what was told to me and seeing if there were any signs of something to clue me in on my task or on my mistake throughout my playthrough. The other thing that was added that caught me off guard was during the puppet creation process. Changing the colour and adding things like unique “nature” selections, but also adding a “favourite” anything to that one puppet to flesh out their character to fit a narrative for those like me who get a bit too invested in my characters in most of my playthroughs.
The things they added to help motivate players to explore each layer of the labyrinth are the “Progress Points” and “Progress Rewards”. Progress points, as stated in the title, are points you accumulate from the progress of filling out the map for each floor for that layer. There are several rewards that are well worth the effort of completing that layer. Now onto the new additions to the game. The Booster Meat are items you get from chests and enemies that help give your puppets more experience points. They come in different types and grades that range from A1 to A8. It made me feel like I was being asked what grade of wagyu tenderloin I’d like to eat…minus getting a certificate about the cow I’m eating with their date of birth, name and a stamp of their nose print on it. This addition did solve the biggest issue for me which was a large amount of grinding I did in LoR just to have brigades of puppets ready for true end mode. Catalyst is another amazing add-on that helped when it came to equipping weapons/armour that had some great effects, but bad stats. Being allowed to add things like critical chance or pierce resistance to any equipment saves me the headaches of managing the mess I created myself. The Fantebiities is a huge add-on that allows you to turn off certain automatic abilities. Getting to either stop the ability to show any enemies near me or the ability to jump over holes to allow me to fall into pitfalls while holding A, makes my zooming through a floor a lot easier if that’s what the situation is called for.
Now the Donum Pact books are a godsend to any veteran of this series and to new players as well. Before, pacts had certain spells or Donum as they’re called here, and you had these empty slots that you could do nothing about and have to work around pacts because of not only their special perk, but because of the needed donum for an upcoming layer or boss battle. Now, we easily add what we want to whatever pact we have on hand. They have boosted the perks for pacts with not only the books, but with the new addition called Secret Crests Libeerations. Secret crests liberations are special battle moves like donum, but it doesn’t use your puppet’s DP points. They’re only active once you’re filled the Liberation gauge for each pact. They’re only usable during battle, but man does it make a huge difference in battle when you have your back against the wall. The last improvement I want to touch on is the ability to stun. Normally, you’d have to pray to RNGesus to stun an enemy during its build-up phase, but thanks to this added mechanic I can gauge and plan out the stun and stop any major damage that’ll come my way.
Overall the time I’ve spent exploring this new labyrinth was great and I’m still going through Galleria as we speak. Following the normal path is recommended to understand the story at the moment. Then get ready to aim for the true ending. I would say be careful of who’s around you when playing this game. There are times my wife walks by the tv and gives me a questioning look when I’m fighting someone who’s either wearing almost nothing, in a certain pose, or both. I feel that fans of the previous work of LoR, people who played other dungeon crawlers like the Etrian Odyssey and Persona Q, and people who love the works from Nippon Ichi will enjoy this game. You don’t have to have played LoR to understand anything in the story to play or enjoy Galleria. I advise you go in with an open mind and enjoy making the puppets you give life to and watch them grow stronger from this adventure. Who knows, you might create one hell of a story.
Grab your copy here https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-games/Labyrinth-of-Galleria-The-Moon-Society-2327886.html
Written by Ruddy Celestial
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